Missouri officer killed, 2 wounded responding to 911 call

A man shot and killed a police officer and wounded two others who were checking on a disturbance at a Missouri home.

Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Collin Stosberg said the officers went to the home in Clinton on Tuesday night in response to a 911 call in which no one was on the line but a disturbance could be heard in the background.

The patrol said shots were fired at the Clinton officers soon after they arrived at the home at around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday. Clinton, with about 8,800 residents, is about 70 miles (110 kilometers) east of Kansas City.

Officer Christopher Ryan Morton, 30, was fatally shot while trying to apprehend the suspect. The other two officers were treated at a hospital. One of the wounded officers remained hospitalized Wednesday with moderate injuries. The other officer's injuries were minor, the patrol said.

Clinton, MO, Police Officer Christopher Ryan Morton, served with distinction for the citizens of Clinton as a full-time Police Officer from 2/12/2015 until 1/10/2017. He stayed with the department as reserve officer until he returned again to full time duty 9/24/2017. #ClintonPDpic.twitter.com/3XCzgL5kUK

A SWAT team entered the home at 12:10 a.m. Wednesday but found the suspect dead. His name wasn't immediately released.

Stosberg said the cause of the suspect's death is under investigation. A woman who was at the home was taken into custody.

Stosberg declined to say whether police had responded to the home in the past or what precipitated the 911 call.

Morton is the second Clinton police officer in the past year to be killed in the line of duty. In August, Officer Gary Michael was killed during a traffic stop. Ian McCarthy was arrested after a two day manhunt and has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the shooting. Prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty.

Officer Brian Arterburn was run over by a Chevy Tahoe stolen from Eddy's Chevrolet Cadillac at 8801 E Kellogg Dr, on December 16, 2016. It wasn't reported stolen until after Arterburn was hit on February 7, 2017.